Big Ticket Items and Tropical Storm Agatha

I don’t know if I’m getting old or what, but the time seems to be passing more quickly with each month that slips on by. (Peter, I know what you’re thinking. My perception of time is altering itself proportionately to my ever increasing age…) Regardless, I’ve been keeping super busy in my new site, working Monday through Friday 7AM to 3PM, trying to learn all there is to learn about ACOCAPAL de R.L. (my cooperative) and the organizations it partners with, such as the UN’s World Food Program. (Check out www.wfp.org for more info.) On top of this, I’ve been decking out my new pad en el estilo del pueblo chic, traveling weekends to visit fellow volunteers and to give trainings, and organizing the PC Soccer team that my friends Axel, Kallie and I have inherited upon the departure of our former captains, Missy and Matt.

The move has turned out to be one of the best decisions of my service. I am exponentially happier and far more productive in terms of work. Though I miss my host family in Santa Ana, especially Mama Chila, we talk at least once a week. At my new place I have a toilet and a shower, which alters my status as a volunteer from borderline hardcore in my previous site, with limited running water, bucket baths and latrine, to Peace Corps Lite, glamorous volunteer living. There is one downside to my new site, however. It is located pretty much as far away from the capital as possible without crossing the border into Honduras (which is no longer off limits to traveling volunteers…thanks for resolving that coup issueJ) and on average five hours on bus. Needless to say I will be able to get lots of reading in on the busses while listening to the Best of the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s Hits CDs and dubbed into Spanish Jackie Chan movies in the background.

Again, I find myself apologizing for being so irregular in my blog updates. (In this country irregularity usually isn’t an issue, if you know what I mean.) But, frequent or not, here are a few things I’ve been up to as of late.

Big Ticket Items

Having been raving about my new living conditions, some of you may be thinking, “Boy, she has it easy. Aren’t volunteers supposed to rough it?” Charlie’s probably thinking, “That’s not how Peace Corps was in my day.” Don’t worry; when I first arrived in my new site, things weren’t so cushy.

My boss Rolando caringly barreled down my pueblo’s dirt road with all that my life consisted of in bags and boxes in one of Peace Corps’s twin cab, white Toyota Hiluxes to drop me off at my new home. My counterpart, Santos, had arranged my living situation (that’s normal protocol) and he assured me that it was bien bonita, very nice. When we arrived at my new home, there were construction materials everywhere, electric wiring that needed to be tied off, and no lights. My landlord, Wilson, showed me to the room that Santos had elected for me and I couldn’t hide the look of horror on my face. There were no fixtures installed, the cement walls were unpainted and drab, and there was no place for me to sleep. There wasn’t even a place for me to hang my hammock. It was around noon, and my landlord promised me he’d have some light fixtures installed by the end of the day, and would work on hanging my hammock. Rolando could tell I wasn’t comfortable at all and began asking if there wasn’t another living option available. Wilson stepped in and said upstairs he had two rooms, too, but the rent was a little more expensive. A difference of $10 wasn’t an issue to me, so Wilson showed us upstairs.

Even from outside, I knew this would be much better. Both rooms arriba had stained wood doors and deadbolts, which I haven’t seen since Dana and I stayed at the Sheraton (and the InterContinental). Upon opening the doors, I let out a sign of relief. The tile on the floors was so shiny I could see my own reflection, the walls were painted a calming pale peach color, there was wood trim and the bathroom, which is shared between the two rooms, was completely tiled and had it’s very own brand new white flush toilet. Wilson explained the only problem was that the plumbing was yet to be connected and the electrical work needed to be completed, as well. I asked how long until the room would be available and he said oh, about a week. Translate into Salvadoran time and that could mean up to a month. So, in order to encourage a speedy completion, I told Wilson I would not be paying rent until the room was done. I am my father’s daughter, after all.

In the meantime, though, the downstairs dungeon room was mine. The room was small, about eight by fourteen feet or so, and the giant pila, cobalt blue toilet and shower (both enclosed in stalls) were located just outside the door. Thankfully Wilson got me an extension cord to power the fan my counterpart, Santos, let me borrow from the cooperative, and to connect my computer. Also, one light fixture worked outside the room, but most of my illumination came from two Virgin Mary prayer candles, just like the ones my Mom lights for my Grammary at church.

Seeing as I had no bed, and Wilson didn’t figure a way to rig up my hammock, I slept on the floor on two mini gym mats doubled up for about two weeks. To be honest, it wasn’t so terrible thanks to the first season of Glee that my fellow volunteers got me hooked on. Upon my arrival back from our PCV Ultimate Frisbee Tournament, I was pleased to find Wilson and his family finishing up my big, beautiful room, and stringing up my hammock.

Now that my room was finished, that meant it was time to furnish it (which I am still in the process of, by the way). I made a list of what I thought to be “the essentials” and started asking around for places to buy things. It was quite evident that I would have to make the trek to Santa Rosa de Lima, the closest large municipality with furniture stores and house wares. In chatting, I discovered that my landlord’s brother-in-law worked at a furniture store and was bound to give me a good deal. Not wanting to get screwed out of precious dollars, I did my best shopping around, wheeling in dealing just like my Dear Old Dad taught me, and sure enough I ended up finding the best price at the store with the familial connection. During my first shopping spree I bought a full size bed, extra firm (no memory foam, though) and an oven. You all know how I enjoy cooking, and after doing some cost analyses between tabletop burners, large toaster ovens and mini apartment sized ovens, and in the end the oven won.

After the first of the month, and after my living allowance had been deposited into my account, the next purchase was ready to be made. I was on the prowl for a large table to be used as a desk, preferably made of durable plastic with folding legs that could be covered and beautified with a Salvadoran textile. Of course, none were to be found. I’d actually have to have the said table imported from the States. Um, no thanks. So I ended up with a nicely sized wooden table and rolling chair. Nothing quite as nice as I would have found at San’s, but nice enough.

As luck would have it, my landlord’s wife informed me that they had an extra refrigerator, and if I wanted, I could borrow it for the time I’m here. Talk about the jackpot of furnishing a home. I’m not sure why, but refrigerators are out of this world expensive. A small dorm size fridge that you could easily find in the US at your local Target for under $100 runs for about $200 here. Ridiculous.

Ultimately I would love to have a few more pieces of furniture, like a bed side table, a small dresser and organizing bins, but these purchases will all be made piece by piece, month by month as the money rolls in. For the time being I am living more than comfortably and enjoying my little piece of El Salvador.

Tropical Storm Agatha

First and foremost, a huge thanks to all the thoughts and prayers of concern that you all sent my way to El Salvador during this season’s first tropical storm. Agatha came on strong and sustained, continuing for nearly five entire days. Thankfully for us here in El Salvador, though we did endure over 170 individual landslides and a few casualties nationwide, we were barely grazed by Agatha while she mauled our neighbor, Guatemala, on top of an already dangerous climate following the eruption of Volcán Acaya.

This particular weekend I, along with four other volunteers from Northern La Union were invited to our Mama Bear, Emily’s site, to participate in a monthly food festival she and her community have implemented. As you can imagine, preparation was extensive and everyone was excited for the event to get underway.

My fellow PCVs and I arrived at Emily’s on Saturday to help with any last minute details that may have needed to be taken care of before the big event on Sunday morning, and to enjoy each other’s company and a few games of pool at Emily’s neighborhood pool hall. (She practically lives in America.) I arrived first to Remesaville to write up my quarterly report. I needed to borrow EmBo’s PC to complete the file because Peace Corps/US Government is not Mac compatible. The whole time, the rain just kept on coming, but I didn’t really think much of it. We are in the rainy season after all, and if there was a really threat PC staff would certainly contact us.

Throughout the rest of the afternoon, more NLUers showed up. First Jenny, then Brian, and finally Missy and Erica. By the time everyone arrived, the rain was only getting stronger and Emily needed to make the decision whether or not to cancel the next day’s big event. If the rain continued, no one would show up and tons of food would go to waste. If it stopped, there would be a lot of kicking one’s self on the part of Emily. You may be thinking, why not just turn on the news and check out the forecast? Oh, silly gringos, we don’t have TVs. In the end, Em and her committee decided it was for the best to cancel the festival.

The six of us spent the rest of the night playing pool, cooking an out of this world dinner (stuffed manicotti) and chatting the night away. The entire while, the rain hadn’t let up. It looked like the right decision was made to cancel the food fair.

The next morning, the rain was still dumping buckets and around 9AM, Emily’s mayor’s office called the Emergency Committee to meet. With this, we all got a bit concerned, especially since we were all planning on traveling back to our respected sites, mine down a dirt road, and Erica, a member of the newest group, was scheduled to travel all the way to San Vicente to begin her second round of training. (It’s rather ironic that the last time El Salvador was hit by a natural disaster, my second training session was slated to begin, too.) Missy, our outgoing Regional Leader, made a few phone calls to PC staff, and sure enough, they were implementing our own Emergency Action Plan. All volunteers were instructed to report their whereabouts and remain where they were so long as they were safe. Travel was suspended.

So, for the next twenty-four hours, the six of us were sequestered at Emily’s and spent the time cooking, eating, talking, playing card games (well, I didn’t…I prefer making spreadsheets), and watching countless episodes of Glee. (That show makes me miss Concert Chorale and musicals so much!) After a while, I started to get cabin fever, but thankfully Emily had back issues of The Economist to help maintain my sanity.

Around 5PM on Sunday afternoon, the rain started to easy up and by the morning, the streets were dry. Emily was a great host of the “Gringo Shelter”, making sure we were sufficiently fed, watered, clothed and entertained. I honestly can’t think of a better way to have spent those 48 hours.

Thankfully, all volunteers and staff were safe and sound. Some volunteers, however, had a much more challenging and traumatic time during the storm. My good friend Dana and her father, Alan, were traveling through Guatemala at the time, and unaware of the severity of the storm at hand (again, no CNN or Weather Channel updates) between two popular tourist towns. They were incredibly lucky, and gracias a dios, after fourteen hours of travel and spending a night on the Panamerican Highway trapped between Guatemala’s two worst landslides, they reached the city of Antigua safely.

This past week, I gave a few trainings to the New Group in San Vicente, and made the absolutely amazing chocolate peanut butter chip cookies from the mix Janet sent mer. The new group and I LOVED them! Also, Janet and Marsha, thanks for the awesome care package. Believe it or not, I still have some chocolate left. I’m rationing it.

The countdown is now on until Dan and Rose make their venture on south to The Savior. In less than two months, I will be showing them around my pueblo, enjoying the historic charm of Suchitoto, introducing them to my Salvadoran family in Santa Ana, and celebrating my birthday on the beach with PCV friends, and most importantly my parents.

As always, an open invitation to visitors stands. I’d love to share a bit of my Salvadoran life with you. And, I have a toilet and shower now. Please continue to send emails and letters, and if anyone is interested in sending something down but have been a little reluctant due to shipping costs, give it to my Mom to bring on down in August. She has a specific “Rosellen’s Suitcase of Random Shhtuff” all ready.

Love, love, love,

Ros